


Prompt 47- Grieving

by WolfQueen91



Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types, Wiedźmin | The Witcher Series - Andrzej Sapkowski
Genre: Angst, Canonical Character Death, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Murder, Sacking of Kaer Morhen (The Witcher)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-18 04:00:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28985991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfQueen91/pseuds/WolfQueen91
Summary: The fall of the Wolf School affected them all... But Vesemir was the oldest of their number. He'd seen it all... And he wasn't too bothered by death coming for him.
Relationships: Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon & Vesemir, Eskel & Vesemir (The Witcher), Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia & Vesemir, Lambert & Vesemir (The Witcher)
Kudos: 6
Collections: BIKM Bingo Challenge - Team Three





	Prompt 47- Grieving

Eskel pulled the reins back as his steed crested the final hill that led to the gates of Kaer Morhen, staring in horror at the black, acrid smoke and flames that engulfed his home.

The stench of human flesh filled his nostrils and he jumped off his horse and ran through the wreckage of the outer gates, panic ripping through him as his ears registered the horrific silence of the keep.

Kaer Morhen was never silent. There was always someone making noise. Shouts..laughter, screams- the voices of hundreds of Witchers were silent.

He slowed down, looking around at the various bodies of adult Witchers and child witchers-to-be, some burned, others simply gutted and disemboweled.

Children… Eskel shuddered, slowly moving to collect the bodies, young and old, to start pyres.

As he made his way through the ruins of his home, forcing back bile and tears, Eskel's ears caught a faint sound… someone alive.

Eskel's heart leapt into his throat and he tore towards the sound, dropping to his knees to dig through the debris the sounds were echoing from.

Old Barmin was there, dead as the others, but… around him sparkled a Quen Shield.

Eskel touched the sparking barrier, gasping as it collapsed, and under Barmin, shaken and stricken with grief lay Vesemir.

"V-Vesemir…?" Eskel whispered shakily, "Are you-?"

"....Eskel… gods, Eskel…. I couldn't- I couldn't do anything-!" Vesemir's voice quivered, grief showing on the old Witcher's face and Eskel leaned in to wrap him into a hug.

A shudder ran through Vesemir and he began to grieve, one hand moving to grip Eskel's gambeson, "We- we must-"

"I've got it. Come on...let's get you out of here… Geralt and Lambert will be here soon, I think." Eskel murmured, standing and assisting the now head of the Wolf School to his feet.

True to his word, a roar of grief echoed through the collapsing halls and the two hurried out to find Lambert, on his knees, staring at the keep that he had always claimed hatred for.

Geralt stood a ways behind him, silent and staring mournfully at the wretched remains of their home, ".....Who?"

"... The village below… mages riled them up..they swarmed the keep." Vesemir whispered, "There...there was no warning..just… death and screams."

The four wolves slowly emptied the keep of bodies, piling them up into pyres to be burned and, as they found full grown Witchers, collected the medallions left behind to create a monument to those they'd lost.

Vesemir stared silently at the dangling medallions and slowly reached a hand out to touch one of the older ones.

"...Remus is still out on the Path." Geralt murmured, "He should be here within the week."

Vesemir closed his eyes, nodding, "...Yes...it..it is just the five of us left."

Eskel rested a hand on his mentor's shoulder, eyes locked on the burning pyres, silently offering support to the man.

Grief has strange ways of showing. For some, grieving is sudden and sharp that fills with the years. For others, it is slow, swelling agony that grows with time.

Vesemir suffered from the latter. It took many years for the old wolf to come to terms with the loss of so many of his brethren, and many years more to accept the comfort that was knowing his boys were still alive.

Eskel, Geralt, and Lambert returned each year after the attack on Kaer Morhen, growing more and more each day...and Vesemir's pain grew and grew… until Geralt arrived with a small girl-child.

Ciri proved to be the balm for Vesemir's battered soul… she also proved, many years after she first arrived in Kaer Morhen, to be the very thing Vesemir would lay his life down for.

In the end, Vesemir understood why many of the older Witchers had not fled… how could they? When their children needed them to spur them to action?


End file.
